


Scream At The Ocean

by for_the_love_of_wolves



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: Aphasia, Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Season 2
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-04
Updated: 2020-02-04
Packaged: 2021-02-28 00:27:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22564741
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/for_the_love_of_wolves/pseuds/for_the_love_of_wolves
Summary: Hunter and Mack kidnap Fitz. (Written for the @aosficnet2 Palentine's Day challenge)
Relationships: Leo Fitz & Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie, Leo Fitz & Lance Hunter
Comments: 4
Kudos: 51
Collections: Palentine's Day 2020





	Scream At The Ocean

Hunter and Mack kidnapped Fitz.

Literally.

And no one knows.

Hunter has a feeling Coulson is going to freak out about this later, because of all the staying in the shadows, being a secret shield and bla bla bla - but he doesn’t really care. This has to happen. Now.

He throws Mack beside him a glance. Mack looks both worried and mildly amused. Hunter knows these lines on Mack’s forehead all too well. His friend doesn’t approve of spontaneous kidnappings and unplanned road trips that are almost certainly going to end with a tirade by his boss. But he knows exactly like Hunter, that things have to change.

He looks into the mirror, seeing Fitz sitting in the backseat, his arms crossed and his lips tight. He looks angry and desperate at the same time. His ears are an alarming red. “Back. I … I want back,” he says firmly. Not for the first time. And again, Hunter tries not to feel too bad for him. “You … you can’t force me. To go outside. You can’t.”

Mack sighs. “Come on, Fitz. We are not going to do anything horrible. We are just making you get some fresh air.”

“Don’t need …”

“Air? Trust me, you do need it, pal. You look like a zombie. And I’m sorry, but most of the times, you also smell like one,” Hunter says, ignoring Mack’s warning look. “It’s not healthy to stay in your room the whole day, staring at your pillow.”

This is how he found Fitz. More than once in the last time. Sitting on his bed in crumpled clothes that were clearly in need of a wash, staring at his pillow but not really seeing it, his hands clenched into shaking fists. It was a scary sight.

Fitz makes an angry noise through his gritted teeth. “Not … not your problem.”

Mack sighs again, massaging his temples with his fingers. “We worry about you, Fitz. We are your friends.”

Fitz blinks repeatedly. But doesn’t say anything.

“And friends are there to help,” Hunter adds. “It’s not healthy to keep everything inside your head. It will make you explode. It’s not going to be pretty, if it happens. We are going to help you. That’s what friends do.”

Fitz swallows a few times. It looks like he’s lost on words. Not only because of the aphasia. “But … I like being on … on my … al-alone,” he finally says.

“There’s nothing wrong about that. When it comes to things like _I don’t like to go to parties_ or _be with a lot of people_. But not when you are not feeling well,” Mack says. “And we’re not going to do anything you don’t like. It’s nothing loud or stressful. Promise.”

Fitz makes a sceptic noise. But he relaxes a little and starts to worry his lip with his teeth, staring outside, where the landscape changes. Rural becomes countryside. And finally, they see the dunes.

“The ocean,” Fitz murmurs. “Really?”

And yes, it must seem like a joke to him, Hunter realizes. A bad joke. Because last time he saw the ocean, he was on its bottom and thought he would never come to the surface alive. “Trust us,” he says, looking into the mirror again, meeting Fitz’s eyes. They seem to tell him he’s trying. Which is better than what he saw in them before.

Hunter stops the car in some distance of a cliff’s edge, and they exit, the wind hitting them with fierce force. They look at the ocean laying in front of them, the surface rippled. The waves hit the cliffs, creating a loud rushing noise. Mack looks at Fitz. “What are you feeling?”

Fitz shrugs. But after a moment of silence, he says, “Angry. Mostly.”

“Why?”

“Because …” Fitz makes a frustrated noise. He crosses his arms again. A defensive gesture. “I can’t do this.”

“Try. It’s better to let it go,” Mack says quietly, and Hunter nods, patting Fitz’s back. 

Fitz huffs. “Alright. I’m angry, because … because I’m bloody pathetic and useless. I can’t talk. I can’t work. I can’t … It’s pointless. Now. And Simmons is gone. She left. Although … She didn’t even … Why didn’t she say anything? She leaves me with … with what I said to her. There. On the bottom of the bloody ocean. And I don’t want things to change. But they do all the time. I couldn’t prevent anything from happening. Ward betrayed us. People got hurt. Simmons got hurt. She almost died. I wanted her to live. I was ready to die. And now I’m here and … and I don’t know what to do!” He stops, breathing heavily, looking surprised about how much he said.

Mack nods. “You’re angry. Let it out. Scream at the ocean.”

Fitz looks at him surprised. “What?”

“Scream. We’re alone here. There’s no one here. No one can hear you. Just scream.”

Fitz blinks. Hunter thinks he won’t do it. But to his surprise, Fitz makes a few stumbling steps forward, until he’s closer to the edge of the cliff. And right when Hunter almost wants to pull him back, even when Mack shakes his head at him, Fitz starts to scream. It’s loud and strong and desperate. Hunter can feel the desperation and anger rush through him when he listens.

Fitz screams until his voice breaks, and then he kind of collapses, sitting in the grass, his back heaving as he starts to sob. Mack looks at Hunter, and they go to Fitz like on a secret signal, sitting in the grass as well. They don’t try to talk to Fitz. Not yet. After the dam breaks, the water has to flow first, until only a trickle is left.

Mack gets the beer they brought. When he hands Fitz a bottle, Fitz wipes his face and takes it, mumbling a silent thank you.

They drink, watching the ocean.

It’s a beautiful sight, Hunter thinks. A little worrying, because it seems endless, but beautiful, nevertheless. 

“Thank you,” Fitz eventually says. “This … It somehow helped a lot.”

“You’re welcome,” Mack says, stretching his legs out. “You should know that you can talk to us, when things get … bad. Dark and difficult. We all have our demons and nightmares. It’s easier to live with them, when you share with someone. That’s not being a burden. And what happened isn’t your fault. It’s unfair. But that’s how life is sometimes. You go on and learn to live with it. And after some time, you will move on, making new happier memories.”

“You think so?” Fitz asks, sounding both scared and hopeful.

“Yes,” Mack says firmly.

Hunter considers himself not a great speaker, not like Mack, but he pats Fitz’s back and says, “When the world gives you shit, you have to throw it right back, love.”

“That’s a nice saying, Hunter,” Mack says dryly.

To their surprise, Fitz begins to chuckle and gets a hiccup that he tries to make disappear with the beer.

Hunter grins.

They stay a while longer, until it starts to rain. Hunter can’t stand raindrops in his beer. He gets up, wiping grass of his jeans. “Let’s go mates, can’t wait to face the director’s rage.”

Mack and Fitz laugh. They follow Hunter to the car. Fitz walks faster. He has a lot less baggage with him.


End file.
